UTSA women to close out regular season at Rice today

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After losing four of their last five games, the UTSA women face an American Conference juggernaut today in Houston as a tune-up for postseason play next week.

The Roadrunners will play the conference’s regular-season champion Rice Owls at 2 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse. Rice has won 22 games in a row in a 27-3 season.

They have swept to victories in all 17 of their games in conference leading into the second match of the season against the Roadrunners, last year’s champs in the American.

The Roadrunners won the conference’s regular-season title last year at 17-1, but they have struggled lately just to maintain a level of consistency over four quarters.

On Wednesday night, UTSA barely broke the 40-point level, losing its home finale 53-41 to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

As a result, the Roadrunners will travel into Houston at 13-15 overall and 8-9 in the American.

The bracket for next week’s conference tournament in Birmingham is expected to be announced tonight. The American’s postseason showcase opens next Tuesday and runs through next Saturday.

From all indications, UTSA is locked into a No. 6 seed and thus will get a first-round bye, which means the Roadrunners are expected to open tournament play on Wednesday.

The Roadrunners will draw the winner of a first-round game between the seventh and tenth seeds. If they win, they’d play on Thursday against the No. 3 seed.

Records

UTSA 13-15, 8-9
Rice 27-3, 17-0

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, today, 2 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners and the Owls played on Jan. 31 in San Antonio. In that meeting, Rice led by three at halftime and then broke the game open in the third period on the way to a 65-55 victory.

Rice guard Victoria Flores scored 33 points on eight of 10 shooting from the field. Flores knocked down four of six from three and 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.

On the defensive end, the Owls held the Roadrunners to 29.7 percent shooting from the field. UTSA could hit only seven of 36 shots in the second half.

Rice was the more opportunistic team in the first meeting. For the game, the Owls scored 21 points off 15 Roadrunners turnovers. The Roadrunners scored 13 points off 20 turnovers for the Owls.

Kelley throws six scoreless as UTSA beats New Mexico State, 10-2, improving to 12-1

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Connor Kelley pitched six scoreless innings, and freshman Nathan Johnson hit the first home run of his college career Friday night as the 25th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners rolled past the New Mexico State Aggies, 10-2.

UTSA pitching had a shutout working in the bottom of the ninth inning when the stadium lights at New Mexico State went out.

After a delay, the Aggies scored their only two runs before UTSA reliever Christian Okerholm put a stop to the rally and secured the team’s fifth straight victory.

In his best outing of the season, Kelley allowed only two hits and walked three while striking out six in the first of a three-game series at Las Cruces, N.M.

After issuing a leadoff walk in the third, the 6-foot-5 righthander retired the last 12 hitters he faced. Kelley was on his game after a shaky start, throwing 88 pitches, including 49 for strikes.

Johnson hammered a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning and added a sacrifice fly in a two-run seventh for the 25th-ranked Roadrunners, who improved to 12-1 on the season.

Another UTSA freshman, Aidan Eshelman, made his mark with two hits and two RBI.

The Roadrunners will play the Aggies again Saturday and Sunday in Las Cruces before traveling for two more on the road Tuesday and Wednesday in Lubbock at Texas Tech.

UTSA scored first in the second inning, opening the rally with a walk and later delivering a one-out single by Garrett Gruell.

The Roadrunners scored twice on the next play, a ground ball by Blaine Bishop that evolved into a throwing error by New Mexico State shortstop Boston Vest.

In the fourth, UTSA broke away.

Johnson smashed a leadoff homer off New Mexico State starting pitcher Bradyn Barnes to make it 3-0. It was the first homer of the season for Johnson, a freshman from Katy Seven Lakes.

Jake Carvajal entered the game at that point to replace Barnes on the mound. The Roadrunners greeted him with three straight hits, the last one an RBI double by Diego Diaz.

After Eshelman and Drew Detlefsen delivered consecutive RBI sacrifice flies, UTSA had crossed four runs in the inning to build a 6-0 lead.

The Roadrunners added two runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and one more in the ninth for their ninth game with double figures in scoring.

Records

UTSA 12-1
New Mexico State 6-7

Coming up

UTSA at New Mexico State, Saturday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at New Mexico State, Sunday, noon

Notable

Coach Pat Hallmark can get his 200th victory at UTSA on Saturday in Las Cruces. Hallmark is now 199-112 as he begins his seventh season with the Roadrunners.

He is 265-160 in his ninth season as a Division I coach, including two at Incarnate Word.

Tulsa women down UTSA, earn double bye into American tournament

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Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA women's basketball lost to Tulsa 53-41 in the Roadrunners' final home game of the season on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA leading scorer Cheyenne Rowe produced 10 points and was held to three of 13 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander


By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane held the UTSA women to 29 percent shooting from the field, while also forcing 22 turnovers, as they romped to a 53-41 victory Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.

With the win, the Golden Hurricane (19-10, 11-6) clinched the No. 4 seed and a double bye into the quarterfinals of the American Conference tournament.

Meanwhile, UTSA (13-15, 8-9) is currently holding onto the No. 6 seed, which would yield a single bye through to the tournament’s second round.

Karen Aston. UTSA women's basketball lost to Tulsa 53-41 in the Roadrunners' final home game of the season on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston’s team struggled offensively in the home finale, making only 13 field goals. The Roadrunners shot zero for 10 from the floor in a one-point second quarter. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners have one game left in the regular season. They play Saturday against the Rice Owls in Houston, and the Owls (27-3, 17-0) have already clinched the regular-season title.

The tournament will be held from March 10-14 in Birmingham, Ala.

For the Roadrunners, the final score against Tulsa was not what they wanted, especially in the last home game of the season.

“I wanted to say thanks to all the people that came out today,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I thought it was a tremendous crowd. A lot of groups came out. A lot of student-athletes were here, supporting our team.

“You know, I’m disappointed that we didn’t play better for probably some first-time people that came to see us play,” she added. “I always feel like if someone comes to the gym to watch you play, then you try to give ’em a reason to come back.”

For Tulsa, the victory was meaningful on a number of fronts. First, the Hurricane gained a measure of payback against the Roadrunners, who beat them 66-47 on Feb. 7 in Tulsa.

Second, they also bounced back from a dispiriting loss Sunday in Houston in which the Owls recorded a 105-65 victory.

But, perhaps most importantly, the double bye in the tournament is valuable from the standpoint of rest and extra time to prepare.

Also, it means the Golden Hurricane will have a shorter route to the postseason title.

Tulsa coach Angie Nelp. UTSA women's basketball lost to Tulsa 53-41 in the Roadrunners' final home game of the season on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

After her team lost by 40 points at Rice on Sunday, Tulsa coach Angie Nelp said she was proud of her players for bouncing back against UTSA. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By opening in the quarterfinals, they can win the American and secure the NCAA tournament’s automatic bid with three wins in three days.

“Anytime you get a bye in a tournament, that always helps,” Tulsa coach Angie Nelp said. “We’ve got another game to play this Saturday (at home against East Carolina).

“It’s not going to be an easy game. So we’ve got to prepare well and compete. Having that double bye may give us an extra day’s rest (the following week).”

Against the Roadrunners, redshirt senior Hannah Reddick led the Golden Hurricane with 17 points and six rebounds. Junior guard Jade Clack had 11 points and forward Mady Cartwright 10.

San Antonio’s Alisha Peavy, a freshman guard, sparked the Golden Hurricane with four points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

For the Roadrunners, it was a struggle all night to get their power forwards into an offensive rhythm, as Cheyenne Rowe and Idara Udo combined to shoot only four of 21 from the floor.

Guard Ereauna Hardaway led the team with 11 points and five rebounds. Rowe had 10 points and nine boards. Udo, meanwhile, was held to six points and nine rebounds.

Records

Tulsa 19-10, 11-6
UTSA 13-15, 8-9

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, Saturday at 2 p.m.

Notable

Tulsa Alisha Peavy. UTSA women's basketball lost to Tulsa 53-41 in the Roadrunners' final home game of the season on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

San Antonio’s Alisha Peavy, a Tulsa freshman from Pieper High School, produced four points and a team-high eight rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Even if UTSA loses Saturday against Rice, its chances of holding onto the No. 6 seed and the first-round bye appear to be good.

Trailing UTSA in the standings are Florida Atlantic, Temple and Charlotte.

All have 7-10 records, raising the possibility of a tie for sixth place after the 18-game schedule is completed.

In that case, the Roadrunners would have an edge in that they are 1-0 against both Florida Atlantic and Charlotte and 2-0 against Temple.

First half

The Golden Hurricane held the Roadrunners to a single free throw and one point in the second quarter en route to taking a 19-13 lead at intermission.

UTSA’s offense went completely cold. Not only did the Roadrunners shoot zero for 10 from the field, they also turned it over seven times.

In the meantime, Tulsa forward Dora Toman hit two of her team’s three 3-point shots as the visitors stunned the home team, 11-1, in the period.

The Roadrunners stayed in the game with a strong defensive effort of their own. They held the Golden Hurricane to seven of 16 shooting for 26.9 percent in the half.

UTSA built a 12-8 lead after the first quarter. Ereauna Hardaway sank a three with 1.8 seconds remaining for the final points. The shot was also UTSA’s last field goal of the half.

In the half, the Roadrunners went five for 21 from the floor for 23 percent. They also committed 13 turnovers.

UTSA women, in their home finale, host Tulsa tonight

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women hope to secure at least a sixth-place finish and a first-round bye in the American Conference basketball tournament when they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane tonight at the Convocation Center.

In the last home game on the schedule and the second-to-last overall, the Roadrunners (13-14, 8-8) also hope to sweep the two-game series from the Golden Hurricane (18-10, 10-6).

UTSA will close out the schedule Saturday on the road against the Rice Owls, who have clinched the American’s regular-season championship.

The conference’s 10-team women’s tournament is set for March 10-14 in Birmingham, Ala. The top two teams earn a triple bye into the semifinals.

The third and fourth-place finishers will open in the quarterfinals.

Fifth and sixth-place teams get a single bye into the second round, which means UTSA likely is faced with winning four games in four days to win the title.

The Nos. 7 through 10 seeds all play on opening day.

Officials at UTSA say they believe the team may have already clinched a spot in the No. 6 slot. But the American hasn’t yet confirmed that is the case.

The Roadrunners downed the Golden Hurricane 66-47 in Oklahoma on Feb. 7.

Records

Tulsa 18-10, 10-6
UTSA 8-8, 13-14

Coming up

Tulsa at UTSA, tonight at 6:30
UTSA at Rice, Saturday at 2 p.m.

Notable

Tulsa guard Alisha Peavy is a freshman from San Antonio’s Pieper High School. Coming into the UTSA game, she was averaging 2.7 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Her father is Ben Peavy, who played in the 1990s for Charlie Boggess at Alamo Heights High School.

Also, her cousin is New Orleans Pelicans guard Micah Peavy. Micah Peavy played at Texas Tech, TCU and Georgetown.

No. 25 UTSA wins its fourth straight, 7-5, over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The 25th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners won their fourth straight game and their first of the season on the road Tuesday night, edging the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, 7-5.

Afterward, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark acknowledged that his team was not at its best.

“The defense was atrocious, but I did think we remained persistent,” he said. “You’re not going to play great all the time, and this is a tricky ballpark with the wind and the sun.”

UTSA made three errors leading to three unearned runs.

“I’m not making excuses at all,” Hallmark said. “We have to play better defense, but it’s like this here. I don’t care what their record is, and it’s good now, but this is always a hard place to win.

“We played poorly on defense, but we were mentally tough.”

Falling behind 3-0 after the first inning, the Roadrunners rallied with five straight runs to take the lead — scoring three in the fifth and two in the sixth.

For UTSA, Lane Haworth produced a fifth-inning, two-run double. In the sixth, Christian Hallmark added a two-run homer to make it 5-3.

Undeterred, A&M-Corpus Christi rallied in the seventh with two unearned runs to tie. UTSA, in response, came up with two more in the ninth to take the lead for good.

With two outs and two on base via walks, Diego Diaz smashed a ball to the right of second baseman Cade Sanchez, who misplayed it on the back hand, allowing Caden Miller to score from second base.

Jacob Silva followed with an RBI single up the middle that plated Lane Haworth from second.

On a throw to the plate that was far off line, Diaz tried to score from first but was out at the plate to end the inning.

Sam Simmons yielded a one-out single to Jackson Smith in the bottom of the ninth that brought the tying run to the plate.

In response, the right-handed reliever from Manvel struck out Cade Sanchez and Isaiah Afework to end the game.

Simmons (3-0) finished for the Roadrunners, working two and a third innings to earn the victory.

Islanders reliever Pierre-Luc Jacques (0-1) took the hard-luck loss after pitching the last two innings.

Jacques nearly had the Roadrunners shut down in the ninth.

The ground ball to Sanchez could have been the third out of a scoreless inning, but it seemed to take a bad hop, ticking off the fielder’s glove for a base hit that scored the go-ahead run.

The Islanders started strong, scoring three runs on two hits in the first.

Smith opened the rally with a one-out double to center, later taking third on a wild pitch. He scored when Miller, the UTSA first baseman, bobbled a ground ball.

With Sanchez on first base via the error, Afework delivered a two-run homer to center off UTSA starter Ryan Self, boosting the home team into a 3-0 advantage.

Records

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-5
UTSA 11-1

Coming up

UTSA at New Mexico State, Friday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at New Mexico State, Saturday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at New Mexico State, Sunday, noon

Notable

The Roadrunners entered the game with the Islanders looking to keep the momentum going from last weekend, when they won three straight at the prestigious BRUCE BOLT College Classic.

With wins in Houston against Ohio State, ninth-ranked Coastal Carolina and Baylor, UTSA earned enough recognition to gain a No. 25 national ranking Monday from D1 Baseball.

On Tuesday, the Roadrunners attained another notable milestone, emerging at No. 5 nationally in the first installment of the NCAA’s ratings percentage index.

Given all the notoriety, Roadrunners coach Pat Hallmark wanted to avoid a letdown. In the end, UTSA didn’t play its best game — it made three errors — but it did come away with its first road win of the season.

UTSA’s only loss this season came a week ago on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Texas State, 7-2.

UTSA, at No. 5 in the RPI, prepares to play the season without Orloski

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners are rolling with the good news and the bad leading into Tuesday night’s baseball game on the road against the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.

The good news is that the Roadrunners have been listed No. 5 in the nation in the first installment of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index.

They’re also ranked 25th by D1 Baseball, a prominent source of national news in college baseball.

The bad news is that they will have to play the rest of the way without injured pitcher Rob Orloski.

“He’s out for the season,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said Monday on a zoom call with reporters. “Surgery.”

Orloski hurt his right (throwing) arm on Feb. 13, on opening night, against South Dakota State.

The team’s top pitcher coming into the season threw 23 pitches in the top of the first inning before exiting in pain.

He hasn’t pitched since.

“Rob’s known this,” Hallmark said. “We’ve known this. I mean, if you saw the injury, you could tell it wasn’t good. So, in terms of today, I think Rob’s OK.

“It was hard. Everybody was empathetic. But Rob is strong. He’s young. He’s resilient. He’s going to be back. So, everybody’s pulling for him.”

Previously, Hallmark has described it as a shoulder injury, but the nature of it was not discussed on the media call.

Even without Orloski, the team has excelled at just about every turn, putting together a 10-1 start.

In games played at Daikin Park last weekend, UTSA defeated Ohio State, Coastal Carolina and Baylor.

UTSA started the season with seven straight wins at home, including three in a row over the Dallas Baptist Patriots.

The Roadrunners’ only loss came last Tuesday when they fell 7-2 at Texas State in San Marcos.

“My thoughts on the week were, I thought we played well, even the game we lost,” Hallmark said. “I don’t think we played poorly. I don’t know that we played well.

“But we didn’t play poorly, so there was something to be learned from the loss, and then we went over to Houston and did well. Really happy for the players.”

The Roadrunners learned of the D1 ranking on Monday following their sweep of three games in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic.

The NCAA’s RPI report, believed to be the highest they’ve had in program history, emerged on Tuesday.

The coach said the players deserve the positive publicity and attention “and just the overall positive nature of things right now.”

“As a coach, trying to temper that and get us ready for Corpus,” Hallmark said. “A little worried about that game because Corpus can really swing it. So, that’s where we’re at right now.”

UTSA will play four games on the road this week, at A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday and at New Mexico State in three games starting Friday.

The coach said he’s pleased with the team overall, noting that the pitching walked only eight batters in Houston, including four on Friday and two each on Saturday and Sunday.

“We can hit,” he said. “We’re not always going to hit … I feel like every time we don’t score 10 runs (a reporter for UTSA student newspaper) is disappointed.

“It’s not that easy to score 10 runs. We make it look easy sometimes. But we mostly hit well, too. You’re not always going to put up 10 runs, but we were able to do that some this weekend, and we won the one game that we didn’t as well.”

Hallmark said the team’s success is a reflection of the team’s mindset.

“They’re very determined,” he said. “They’re willing to do whatever’s asked of them. It’s a very unselfish group up to this point. So, I can’t say enough about those guys.”

Records

UTSA 10-1
Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 8-4

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

The Islanders have played well recently, beating Pittsburgh, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern twice before losing to Texas Southern 16-4 on Sunday.

Baseball: UTSA beats Baylor 11-6 to sweep three games in Houston

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Caden Miller and Jacob Silva produced three RBIs each to back left-handed pitcher Conor Myles’ five innings of shutout baseball, and the UTSA Roadrunners downed the Baylor Bears 11-6 Sunday night in Houston.

Caden Miller. UTSA beat South Dakota State 17-4 in the Roadrunners' 2026 baseball season opener on Friday, Feb. 13, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Caden Miller, shown here making a play in the season opener at Roadrunner Field, slammed a three-run home run to highlight a four-run second inning against Baylor in Houston. – File photo by Joe Alexander

With the win, the Roadrunners swept three games at the prestigious BRUCE BOLT College Classic (formerly the Astros Classic) and improved to 10-1 on the season.

After the Roadrunners knocked off the Big Ten’s Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday afternoon, they followed with a victory over the ninth-ranked Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday.

Coastal Carolina reached the College World Series finals last season.

Against Baylor, a member of the Big 12, UTSA of the American Conference scored four runs in the second, highlighted by a three-run homer from Miller.

The Roadrunners added two runs in the third and fourth innings and another in the fifth for a 9-0 lead.

Silva, a TCU transfer from San Antonio Clark High School, had an RBI double in the third inning and a two-RBI single in a two-run eighth.

Meanwhile, Myles (1-0) pitched effectively in his first start of the season. The lefty from Australia pitched five scoreless innings, allowing only three hits.

Myles struck out four and walked two.

Baylor starting pitcher Cade Hansen (0-2) took the loss. Hansen worked three and 1/3 innings, yielding seven runs on seven hits.

The Roadrunners are off to a fast start on the season, a year after they won a program-record 47 games and reached the NCAA Super Regional round of the playoffs.

Records

Baylor 6-5
UTSA 10-1

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Wichita State men roll to an 84-67 victory over UTSA

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Jamir Simpson. UTSA men's basketball lost to Wichita State 84-67 in American Conference action on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA senior Jamir Simpson, in his last game at home, played all 40 minutes and scored 21 points against the Wichita State Shockers. During the game, Simpson surpassed 2,000 points for his college career. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Guard Kenyon Giles scored 28 points Sunday, and the Wichita State Shockers dominated on defense and on the boards, dealing the UTSA Roadrunners an 84-67 loss on Senior Night.

In their last home game and the second-to-last of the season, the beleaguered Roadrunners played with only six players and stayed within single figures of the Shockers for about 17 minutes.

Baboucarr Njie. UTSA men's basketball lost to Wichita State 84-67 in American Conference action on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Baboucarr Njie produced 21 points and seven rebounds. Njie hit eight of 15 shots from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

After that, the visitors from Kansas gradually pulled away for their fifth straight victory.

The Roadrunners lost their fourth straight and their 21st in their last 22 games. They finished with 11 straight losses at home.

UTSA will take a record of 5-24 and 1-16 in the American Conference into its season finale a week from today at Houston against the Rice Owls.

Senior Jamir Simpson and sophomore Baboucarr Njie scored 21 points apiece to lead the Roadrunners. Simpson, from Lima, Ohio, eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his college career.

Forward Daniel Akitoby produced 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Defense was the name of the game for the Shockers, who held to Roadrunners to 33.3 percent shooting, including 20.6 percent in the first half.

In addition, Wichita State won the rebounding battle, 55-38. Of their 55 boards, 21 came on the offensive glass.

The Shockers also blocked eight shots and produced four steals in improving their record to 20-10 and 12-5.

UTSA coach Austin Claunch acknowledged that his team played hard, but he added that the Roadrunners could have played better than they did.

“First half, our rhythm wasn’t there … We missed some that we normally make. Just wasn’t a great first half, and we’re playing a good team,” Claunch said.

Wichita State coach Paul Mills. UTSA men's basketball lost to Wichita State 84-67 in American Conference action on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Wichita State is bidding for a top-two finish and a triple bye into the American Conference tournament under third-year coach Paul Mills. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“We did a good job on Giles in the first half,” the coach added. “Now you’re trying to play catch up, so the game is getting a little more loose and he gets a one-pass three. Just can’t happen.

“We made too many mental mistakes to beat a good team.”

Giles, a 5-10 guard from Chesapeake, Va., is a Player of the Year Candidate in the American. He entered the game averaging 19.2 points.

The transfer from UNC Greensboro came in shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three. Against UTSA, he shot 11 of 27 from the field and six of 15 from long distance.

Giles hit five threes in the second half on eight of 14 shooting.

Records

Wichita State 20-10, 12-5
UTSA 5-24, 1-16

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Notable

UTSA’s 24 losses tie the 1985-86 team for second-most in program history.

Coach Don Eddy’s last team at UTSA finished 7-24. The program record for losses in a season is 27. Coach Brooks Thompson’s last team in 2015-16 finished 5-27.

Wichita State is bidding for a top-two finish in the American Conference. With one game to play, the Shockers are 20-10 on the season and 12-5 in conference. Tulsa is third at 23-6 and 11-5.

If Wichita State can finish in the top two, it would give the Shockers a triple bye in the tournament, all the way through to the semifinals.

That means they’d only need to win two games in two days at Birmingham to claim the conference’s postseason title and automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

First half

Dillon Battie scored 12 points, and Wichita State held UTSA to 20.6 percent shooting to build a 41-29 lead at intermission.

The Shockers broke the game open in the last seven minutes, defending, blocking shots and going on a 15-7 run.

Wichita State Kenyon Giles. UTSA men's basketball lost to Wichita State 84-67 in American Conference action on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Wichita State guard Kenyon Giles poured in 21 of his 28 points in the second half against UTSA. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Giles started the burst with a three-pointer. Battie connected on a couple of free throws and then 7-foot-2 Will Berg rebounded and hit a follow shot, making it a 33-22 ball game.

Wichita State blocked five shots in the half, including two by TJ Williams.

Giles, the Shockers’ leading scorer, knocked down a 14-footer for the last basket of the half.

The 5-10 guard from Chesapeake, Va., was held to seven points on three of 13 shooting in the opening 20 minutes.

UTSA women hold off Memphis to snap a three-game losing streak

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Idara Udo. UTSA beat Memphis 67-55 in American Conference women's basketball on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Junior forward Idara Udo contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as UTSA beat Memphis to split two games in the season series. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners executed four straight plays on the offensive end in the final minutes, scoring nine points in a row on those possessions, to down the Memphis Tigers 67-55 on Sunday afternoon in American Conference women’s basketball.

Having clinched a berth in the American’s postseason tournament on Saturday night when Tulsa beat Wichita State, UTSA (13-14, 8-8) still wanted to win on Senior Day and make amends for an earlier loss to Memphis.

Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA beat Memphis 67-55 in American Conference women's basketball on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

After recognition in a pre-game ceremony on Senior Day, Cheyenne Rowe had 16 points and nine rebounds against the Memphis Tigers. – Photo by Joe Alexander

They also wanted to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Roadrunners succeeded on all fronts by building an early lead and then holding off the Tigers (9-20, 3-13) at the end with a late push led by Cheyenne Rowe, Idara Udo and Ereauna Hardaway.

Rowe and Hardaway were two of the UTSA seniors recognized in a pre-game ceremony.

“It was good to get back home and get on the winning side of the game,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “Just a fantastic effort, I thought, on our part to see seniors go out in a winning fashion.

“But, really, just our team getting back to winning ways. I’m super proud of the way we followed the game plan and stayed composed throughout the game.”

Udo led the Roadrunners with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

Rowe, a 6-2 senior from Ontario, Canada, contributed 16 points and nine boards. Hardaway, a 5-8 guard from Jonesboro, Ark., delivered 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Guard Daejah Richmond paced the Tigers with 17 points and four assists.

Amauri Williams scored 11. With the loss, Memphis was eliminated from contention for the conference tournament.

UTSA switched up personnel in the starting lineup and then pulled out to an 18-10 lead after the first quarter.

Inserted as a starter, freshman Adriana Robles added speed to the lineup. She also produced nine points and five assists against only one turnover.

Robles also pulled down six rebounds on a day when UTSA dominated on the boards, 48-28.

Records

Memphis 9-20, 3-13
UTSA 13-14, 8-8

Ereauna Hardaway. UTSA beat Memphis 67-55 in American Conference women's basketball on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Senior Ereauna Hardaway contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists as UTSA avenged an earlier loss to Memphis. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Coming up

Tulsa at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Saturday, March 7, 2 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners sit in sixth place in the American Conference standings leading into their last two games of the regular season. At 8-8, the Roadrunners are two games behind 10-6 and fifth-place Tulsa and one ahead of 7-9 Temple and Charlotte.

A seeding of fifth or sixth would be advantageous for UTSA in that it would give the team a first-round bye in the tournament. Falling to seventh or lower would be perilous, in that the No. 7 through 10 seeds don’t get a bye.

In other words, finishing seventh would mean UTSA would need to win five games in five days to win the postseason title and qualify for the NCAA tournament. Finishing fifth or sixth means that the team would need four wins in four days.

UTSA’s two remaining conference games will be challenging. The Roadrunners host Tulsa (18-10, 10-6) on Wednesday. They will finish on the road against regular-season champion Rice (26-3, 16-0) on Saturday afternoon.

Third quarter

The Roadrunners opened the second half on 12-3 run, expanding their lead to 42-28.

Undaunted, the Tigers started pressing after their own field goal makes and speeding up the action. At the end of the period, UTSA led 51-44.

Udo scored nine points in the quarter for UTSA, and Williams had 11 for Memphis.

First half

The Roadrunners rode an 18-point first quarter to a 30-25 halftime lead on the Tigers.

The half ended on a bizarre note, with a foul called to prompt a stop in the action with 13.2 seconds left.

Richmond responded by flipping the ball up to hit Hardaway. Hardaway retaliated by tossing the ball back at Richmond, drawing whistles from the referees.

Both players were hit with technical fouls.

The story of the half for the Roadrunners centered on their first-quarter scoring.

Limited to 13 points or less in their last five first quarters, they shot 41 percent to take an 18-10 lead on the Tigers.

Freshman Adriana Robles started at guard for the Roadrunners along with the other regular starters, including Hardaway, Mia Hammonds, Idara Udo and Cheyenne Rowe.

Damara Allen came off the bench.

Basketball: UTSA women and men to recognize seniors

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women have clinched a berth in the 10-team American Conference women’s basketball tournament, a team spokesman said Sunday.

The spokesman said the Roadrunners clinched on Saturday when Tulane defeated Wichita State.

UTSA will host the Memphis Tigers on Sunday at 3 p.m. Before the game, the Roadrunners will honor Cheyenne Rowe, Ereauna Hardaway and Nyayongah Gony on Senior Day.

Records

Memphis 9-19, 3-12
UTSA 12-14, 7-8

Coming up

Tulsa at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Saturday, March 7, 2 p.m.

Men’s basketball

In the second game of a basketball doubleheader at the Convocation Center, the Roadrunners men will host the Wichita State Shockers at 7 p.m.

UTSA will hold a postgame ceremony on Senior Night, recognizing Stanley Borden, LJ Brown, Mo Njie and Jamir Simpson.

Records

Wichita State 19-10, 11-5
UTSA 5-23, 1-15
x-UTSA has been eliminated from tournament consideration

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m.